May 27
Events * 927 - Battle of the Bosnian Highlands Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeated by King Tomislav of Croatia *1120 - Richard III of Capua anointed as prince a fortnight before his untimely death. *1153 - Malcolm IV becomes King of Scotland. *1328 - Philip VI is crowned King of France. *1647 - Peter Stuyvesant was inaugurated as Director-General of New Netherland. *1703 - Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg. *1798 - The Battle of Oulart Hill occurs in Wexford, Ireland. *1812 - South American Wars of Independence: In Bolivia, the battle of La Coronilla, in which the women from Cochabamba fought against the Spanish army. *1813 - War of 1812: In Canada, American forces capture Fort George. *1849 - The Great Hall of Euston station, London opened. *1860 - Giuseppe Garibaldi begins his attack on Palermo, Sicily, as part of the Italian Unification. *1883 - Alexander III is crowned Tsar of Russia. *1895 - Oscar Wilde is sent to prison for sodomy. *1896 - The F4-strength St. Louis-East St. Louis Tornado hits in St. Louis and East Saint Louis, killing at least 255 people and incurring $2.9 billion in damages (1997USD). *1905 - Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Tsushima begins. *1907 - A Bubonic plague outbreak begins in San Francisco. *1908 - Maulana Hakeem Noor-ud-Din elected first Khalifa of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community *1919 - The NC-4 aircraft arrives in Lisbon after completing the first transatlantic flight. *1927 - The Ford Motor Company ceases manufacturing the Ford Model T and begins to retool plants to make Ford Model A's. *1930 - The 1,046 feet (319 meters) tall Chrysler Building in New York (tallest man-made structure at the time) opens to the public. *1933 - New Deal: The U.S. Federal Securities Act is signed into law requiring the registration of securities with the Federal Trade Commission. * 1933 - The Walt Disney Company releases the cartoon The Three Little Pigs, with its hit song "Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf?" * 1933 - The Century of Progress World's Fair opens in Chicago. *1935 - New Deal: The Supreme Court of the United States declares the National Industrial Recovery Act to be unconstitutional in the case A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, (295 U.S. 495). *1937 - In California, the Golden Gate Bridge opens to pedestrian traffic, creating a vital link between San Francisco and Marin County. *1939 - DC Comics publishes its second superhero in Detective Comics #27; he is Batman, one of the most topical comic book superheroes of all time. *1940 - World War II: 97 out of 99 members of a Royal Norfolk Regiment unit are massacred while trying to surrender at Dunkirk. The German commander, Captain Fritz Knoechlein, is eventually hanged for war crimes. *1941 - World War II: U.S. President Roosevelt proclaims an "unlimited national emergency". * 1941 - World War II: The German battleship Bismarck is sunk in the North Atlantic killing almost 2,100 men. *1942 - World War II: Operation Anthropoid - assassination of Reinhard Heydrich in Prague *1944- HAVANA,CUBA ARGELIO JULIO DIAZ OLIVERA, IS BORN,AS GALLACTIC OBSERVER *[[1957] - Toronto's 1050 CHUM AM becomes Canada's first radio station to only broadcast top 40 Rock n' Roll music format. *1958 - The F-4 Phantom II flies for the first time. *1960 - In Turkey, a military coup removed President Celal Bayar and the rest of the democratic government from office. *1963 - Folk music singer Bob Dylan releases The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan album, which features "Blowin' in the Wind" and several other of his best-known songs. *1964 - Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru dies in office. *1965 - Vietnam War: United States warships begin bombardments of National Liberation Front targets within South Vietnam for the first time. *1967 - Australians vote in favour of a constitutional referendum granting the Australian government the power to make laws to benefit Indigenous Australians, and to count them in the national census. * 1967 - The U.S. Navy aircraft carrier [[Wikipedia:USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)|USS John F. Kennedy (CV-67)]] is christened by Jacqueline Kennedy and her daughter Caroline. *1968 - the meeting of the Union Nationale des Étudiants de France (national Union of the students of France), most outstanding of the events of May 1968, proceeds and gathers 30.000 to 50.000 people in the Stade Sebastien Charlety. *1971 - The Dahlerau train disaster, the worst railway accident in West Germany, kills 46 people and injures 25 near Wuppertal. *1977 - An Aeroflot plane crashes, killing 69 people. *1980 - The Gwangju Massacre: airborne and army troops of South Korea retake the city of Gwangju from civil militias, killing at least 207 and possibly many more. *1994 - The Soviet dissident Alexander Solzhenitsyn returns to his native Russia after 20 years of exile in the United States. *1995 - In Charlottesville, actor Christopher Reeve is paralyzed from the neck down after falling from his horse in a riding competition. *1996 - First Chechnya War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin meets with Chechnyan rebels for the first time and negotiates a cease-fire in the war. *1997 - The F5-strength Jarrell Tornado slams into the small town of Jarrell, killing 27 people. * 1997 - The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Paula Jones can pursue her sex harassment lawsuit against President Bill Clinton while he is in office. *1998 - Oklahoma City bombing: Michael Fortier is sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $200,000 for failing to warn authorities about the terrorist plot. *1999 - The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicts Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo. *2006 - The May 2006 Java earthquake strikes at 5:53:58 AM local time (22:53:58 UTC May 26) devastating Bantul and the city of Yogyakarta killing over 6,600 people. Births *1332 - Ibn Khaldun, Arab historian (d. 1406) *1519 - Girolamo Mei, Italian historian (d. 1594) *1576 - Caspar Schoppe, German scholar (d. 1649) *1601 - Antoine Daniel, Jesuit missionary and martyr (d. 1648) *1623 - William Petty, English scientist and philosopher (d. 1687) *1626 - William II (d. 1650) *1651 - Louis-Antoine, French cardinal (d. 1729) *1652 - Liselotte von der Pfalz, Duchess of Orléans (d. 1722) *1738 - Nathaniel Gorham, American politician (d. 1796) *1756 - King Maximilian I of Bavaria (d. 1825) *1794 - Cornelius Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur (d. 1877) *1818 - Amelia Bloomer, American suffragette (d. 1894) *1819 - Julia Ward Howe, American composer (d. 1910) *1827 - Samuel F. Miller, American politician (d. 1892) *1836 - Jay Gould, American financier (d. 1892) *1837 - Wild Bill Hickok, American gunfighter (d. 1876) * 1837 - Ivan Kramskoi, Russian painter (d. 1887) *1864 - Ante Trumbić, Croatian politician (d. 1938) *1867 - Arnold Bennett, British novelist (d. 1931) *1871 - Georges Rouault, French painter and graphic artist (d. 1958) *1876 - Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish writer (d. 1945) *1879 - Hans Lammers, German SS officer (d. 1962) *1884 - Max Brod, Austrian author (d. 1968) *1888 - Louis Durey, French composer (d. 1979) *1891 - Claude Champagne, French-Canadian composer (d. 1965) *1893 - Hermann Dörnemann, German supercentarian (d. 2005) *1894 - Louis-Ferdinand Céline, French writer (d. 1961) * 1894 - Dashiell Hammett, American author (d. 1961) *1897 - John Cockcroft, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967) *1900 - Uładzimir Zylka, Belarusian poet (d. 1933) *1904 - Chuhei Nambu, Japanese athlete (d. 1997) *1907 - Rachel Carson, American biologist and science writer (d. 1964) *1911 - Hubert H. Humphrey, American politician (d. 1978) * 1911 - Teddy Kollek, Austrian-born Israeli politician (d. 2007) * 1911 - Vincent Price, American actor (d. 1993) *1912 - John Cheever, American author (d. 1982) * 1912 - Sam Snead, American golfer (d. 2002) * 1912 - Terry Moore, American baseball player (d. 1995) *1913 - Wols, German painter (d. 1951) *1915 - Herman Wouk, American writer *1918 - Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japanese politician *1921 - Caryl Chessman, American robber and rapist (d. 1960) *1922 - Christopher Lee, English actor *1923 - Henry Kissinger, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize * 1923 - Sumner Redstone, American entrepreneur *1925 - Tony Hillerman, American writer *1930 - John Barth, American novelist * 1930 - William S. Sessions, American director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation *1933 - Ted Rogers, Canadian entrepreneur *1934 - Harlan Ellison, American author *1935 - Lee Meriwether, Miss America and actress * 1935 - Ramsey Lewis, American pianist * 1935 - Mal Evans, British Beatles assistant (d. 1976) *1936 - Louis Gossett Jr., American actor * 1936 - Marcel Masse, Canadian politician *1937 - Allan Carr, American film producer and writer (d. 1999) *1939 - Socratis Kokkalis, Greek businessman *1942 - Lee Baca, American law enforcement official *1943 - Cilla Black, English singer and presenter * 1943 - Bruce Weitz, American actor *1944 - Christopher Dodd, American politician * 1944 - Alain Souchon, French singer and songwriter *1945 - Bruce Cockburn, Canadian musician *1946 - Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish musician (d. 2005) *1947 - Branko Oblak, Slovenian footballer *1948 - Wubbo de Boer, Dutch civil servant *1951 - Ana Belén, Spanish singer and actress *1954 - Pauline Hanson, Australian politician *1955 - Richard Schiff, American actor * 1955 - Eric Bischoff, American professional wrestling promoter *1956 - Cynthia McFadden, American television anchor *1957 - Siouxsie Sioux, English musician (Siouxsie and the Banshees) *1958 - Neil Finn, New Zealand singer and songwriter (Split Enz, Crowded House) * 1958 - Linnea Quigley, American actress *1961 - Peri Gilpin, American actress *1962 - Ray Borner, Australian basketball player * 1962 - Steven Brill, American film writer and director *1964 - Adam Carolla, American comedian and television personality *1967 - Paul Gascoigne, English footballer *1968 - Jeff Bagwell, American baseball player * 1968 - Frank Thomas, American baseball player *1970 - Tim Farron, British politician * 1970 - Joseph Fiennes, English actor * 1970 - Michele Bartoli, Italian cyclist *1971 - Paul Bettany, English actor * 1971 - Kaur Kender, Estonian author * 1971 - Lisa Lopes, American singer (TLC) (d. 2002) * 1971 - Glenn Ross, Northern Irish strongman * 1971 - Monika Schnarre, Canadian model *1972 - Ivete Sangalo, Brazilian singer *1974 - Derek Webb, American singer and songwriter (Caedmon's Call) * 1974 - Danny Wuerffel, American football player *1975 - André 3000, American musician (OutKast) * 1975 - Michael Hussey, Australian cricketer * 1975 - Jadakiss, American rapper (The Lox) * 1975 - Jamie Oliver, British chef and television personality * 1975 - RJD2, American hip-hop producer *1976 - Anita Blonde, Hungarian porn star *1977 - Abderrahmane Hammad, Algerian athlete * 1977 - Mahela Jayawardene, Sri Lankan cricketer * 1977 - Tommie van der Leegte, Dutch footballer *1979 - Mile Sterjovski, Australian soccer player *1981 - Özgür Çevik, Turkish singer and actor * 1981 - Johan Elmander, Swedish footballer * 1981 - Miloy, Angolan footballer *1983 - Bobby Convey, American soccer player *1984 - Kalle Spjuth, Swedish bandy player *1985 - Chien-Ming Chiang, Taiwanese baseball player *1990 - Ekaterina Zaikina, Russian figure-skater Deaths * 366 - Procopius, Roman usurper (b. 326) * 735 - Bede, English historian and theologian (b. 672 or 673) * 866 - Ordoño I of Asturias, King of Asturias (b. 831) * 927 - Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria (b. 864 or 865) *1039 - Dirk III *1444 - John Beaufort, English military leader (b. 1404) *1508 - Ludovico Sforza, Duke of Milan (b. 1452) *1525 - Thomas Muentzer, German rebel leader *1541 - Margaret Pole (b. 1473) *1564 - John Calvin, French religious reformer (b. 1509) *1610 - François Ravaillac, French assassin of Henry IV of France (b. 1578) *1615 - Marguerite de Valois, queen of Henry IV of France (b. 1553) *1661 - Archibald Campbell, Scottish religious dissident (b. 1607) *1675 - Gaspard Dughet, French painter (b. 1613) *1690 - Giovanni Legrenzi, Italian composer (b. 1626) *1702 - Dominique Bouhours, French critic (b. 1628) *1707 - Marquise de Montespan, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (b. 1641) *1781 - Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist (b. 1716) *1797 - François-Noël Babeuf, French revolutionary (b. 1760) *1831 - Jedediah Smith, American explorer (b. 1799) *1840 - Niccolò Paganini, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1782) *1896 - Aleksandr Grigorievich Stoletov, Russian physicist (b. 1839) *1910 - Robert Koch, German physician, Nobel laureate (b. 1843) *1919 - Kandukuri Veeresalingam, Indian social activist (b. 1848) *1926 - Srečko Kosovel, Slovenian poet (b. 1904) *1947 - Ed Konetchy, American baseball player (b. 1885) *1949 - Robert Ripley, American cartoonist (Ripley's Believe It or Not!) (b. 1890) *1953 - Jesse Burkett, American baseball player (b. 1868) *1960 - James Montgomery Flagg, American illustrator (b. 1877) *1963 - Gregoris Lambrakis, Greek physician and politician (b. 1912) *1964 - Jawaharlal Nehru, Indian politician (b. 1889) *1967 - Ernst Niekisch, German politician (b. 1889) *1969 - Jeffrey Hunter, American actor (b. 1926) *1984 - Vincent James McMahon, was a U.S. professional wrestling promoter. *1986 - Isma'il Raji' al-Faruqi, Palestinian-born philosopher (b. 1921) *1987 - John Howard Northrop, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1891) *1989 - Arseny Tarkovsky, Russian poet (b. 1907) *1990 - Robert B. Meyner, American politician (b. 1908) *1991 - Leopold Nowak, Austrian musicologist (b. 1904) *1992 - Uncle Charlie Osborne, American fiddler (b. 1890) *1993 - Mary Philbin, American actress (b. 1903) * 1993 - Werner Stocker, German actor (b. 1955) *2000 - Crawford Murray MacLehose of Beoch, British statesman (b. 1917) * 2000 - Maurice Richard, Canadian hockey player (b. 1921) * 2000 - Kazimierz Leski, Polish engineer, fighter pilot, intelligence and counter-intelligence officer (b. 1912) *2001 - Ramon Bieri, American actor (b. 1929) *2003 - Luciano Berio, Italian composer (b. 1925) *2006 - Craig Heyward, American football player (b. 1966) * 2006 - Paul Gleason, American actor (b. 1939) * 2006 - Alex Toth, American cartoonist (b. 1928) * 2006 - Rob Borsellino, American columnist (b. 1949) * 2006 - Oduvil Unnikrishnan, Indian actor (b. 1944) *2007 - Izumi Sakai, Japanese singer (b. 1967) * 2007 - Ed Yost, American inventor (b. 1919) * 2007 - Gretchen Wyler, American actress (b. 1932) Holidays and observances * Lag Ba'omer in Judaism (2005) * Feast day of the following saints in the Christian Church: ** Augustine of Canterbury ** Venerable Bede ** Saint Julius the Veteran ** Pope John I ** Hildebert ** Bruno ** Eutropius * Mother's Day in Bolivia (Día de la Madre) and Sweden (Mors Dag) * Children's Day in Nigeria External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:May